The Girl Who Always Smiles
by kayloveyoubye
Summary: Delly Cartwright was always the girl who smiled, but when her home was destroyed, it got increasingly harder to smile. Starts at the end of CF, and goes into MJ. Follows the same storyline, but Delly plays a more important role. R&R please. :D
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey, guys! I'm new to writting, but I had an idea for this story. So what better place to put this than fanfiction? I doubt I'm the best writter out there, considering this is my first time, so if anyone would like to use my idea, and rewrite it, I'll be happy to check out your stories, and see if I like your style. Until then, here is my story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games trilogy, any of Suzanne Collins' characters, or the song "Sophia" by Laura Marling.**

CHAPTER 1

Today is a bad day. Something big will happen- I can feel it. My mother always said that I can feel bad omens coming a mile away. My 4 year old brother, Lawrence always gets upset watching the games, so I decided to take him to the meadow. So, here we are, picking flowers for the tributes' families.

"Delly, what do you think about these flowers?" His little hand has made a fist around some dandelions. I don't tell him that he has picked a handful of weeds; I just smile like always and tell them how pretty they are. It's a warm spring day, clear skies, and a light breeze. It's perfect. Too perfect- like the Capital has somehow changed the weather to render us unsuspicious. I'm not the only one to notice, either. Many of the people in town have closed up their shops for the day, and people we passed in the Seam have their windows closed tightly.

I look at my brother to see him frowning, like he's trying to figure out some complicated equation. "What's wrong, Laurie?" He takes a long time to respond. His lip trembles, and his eyes tear up as he answers. "When is Peeta coming home? He told me that we would play trucks together. He's not coming back, is he?" A rush of sadness comes over me as he asks me the dreaded question. Of course Peeta isn't coming back. He would go to the ends of the earth and back to protect Katniss, and he will try to make sure she wins. If either of them even make it that far. It's the second day, and already more than half of the tributes are dead- and these are all victors! I have no hope, but that doesn't mean I have to crush Laurie's.

"Why wouldn't he Laurie? He made a promise to you! Has Peeta ever broken a promise before?" Laurie's eyes light up, and a grin spreads across his face. "Nope! I can't wait to show him my new truck Papa just made for me!" He laughs, and skips ahead of me. I don't know how I'll be able to tell him later on that Peeta's not coming home. It's a deed I'm defiantly not looking forward to doing.

"Come on Delly! We're gonna be late for dinner! You know how Mommy hates when we stay out too long!" Laurie stops and waits until I catch up. All contemplations of sorrow leave my mind as I look at my brothers smiling face. Melancholy can wait for another day. "Hey Laurie, wanna sing a song?"

This is a game we play. I'll start to sing a song, and Laurie has to guess what it is, and start singing along with me. It helps take his mind of things when he's sad or throwing a tantrum.

_When the bell toll when the bell gon' chime_

_You better call for your woman on high_

_And when the bell tolls for your last day_

_You'll be gettin' down on your knees to pray_

_I'm a good woman and I never did say whatever it was that you did that day_

_I'm not a woman that's gonna place blame but you said that you was comin' on judgement day_

Lawrence starts singing loudly when he finally realizes what song I'm singing. It's a song that we learned in school a couple of years ago, and I taught it to Laurie as soon as I perfected it. We'll never win any awards for our voices, but it's a cheerful, happy, sound. Everyone knows that the Cartwrights are around when there's singing.

_Now Sophia_

_I'm wounded by dust_

_When the bell toll when the bell gon' chime_

_You better call for your woman on high_

_And when the bell tolls on your last day_

_You'll be getting' down on your knees to pray_

_I'm a good woman and I never did say whatever it was that you did that day_

_I'm not a woman that's gonna place blame, but you said that you was comin' on judgement day_

_Now-_

I abruptly stop singing, even as my brother continues on. Something is off. There's no sound in this part of the Seam that we're walking through. It's usually bustling with children and pets, and neighbors chatting on the road. No one's around. That means someone had died from our district, and considering the part of District 12 we're in, it's most likely Katniss. Tears spring to my eyes, and I try to force them back for my brother's sake. She and I had never been friends, necessarily, but she was an amazing person, and someone I knew. I'll probably never see her again.

With that realization a hundred thoughts run through my head. _How did she die? Who killed her? Is Peeta okay? What happens now?_ I'm ripped from my thoughts by my brother. "Delly- look! It's a giant bird in the sky! Do you see it?" I squint my eyes against the sun to see what he's talking about, and I see it. Only it's not a bird. It's a fleet of hovercrafts coming this way. My eyes widen as I grasp what's happening. We're about to be under attack.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hi again. I decided to post the second chapter just to get the story moving.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or Suzanne Collins' characters.**

CHAPTER 2

My instincts kick in as I lean down and grab my brother by the shoulders. "Laurie, listen to me carefully." I plead with him. "Something very bad is about to happen. I need you to go over to that house, knock on the door, and tell whoever opens that they need to come outside. Show them the birds, okay? I'll be at the house across the street. Go fast now, Laurie." I say gesturing to the house next to us. After Laurie goes up the steps, I rush across the street and up to the porch. I frantically knock on the door, praying these people will open up.

None other than Gale Hawthorne, Katniss' "cousin", opens up. "What are you-" I pull him by the arm before he can finish his sentence, gesturing to the sky. "Shit." He wastes no time in pulling his family out of his home, along with some knives and some sort of bag. I look over to Lawrence, and see him showing the other family the "birds". They seem frozen with horror, and just stand there gaping. "What are you doing?" I yell. "Get out of here before you're blown to bits!" They snap out of it, and run into their house to get supplies. "Everyone go to the meadow, as close to the fence as possible. Tell everyone you can, so they can get out safely." Says Gale, taking charge. I look down at my brother, who now wears a worried expression, hugging onto me like I'm his lifeline. It's obvious that they're not birds now that the hovercrafts are getting closer.

"Ma," Gale says, "Get to the meadow, I'll catch up soon" She looks like she wants to argue, but knows better. She has three other kids to think about. "Alright, we'll see you there." She says squeezing his hand. She slowly walks off when I remember I have my own little one to think about. "Wait!" I call. "Take my little brother with you- please! He's really sweet and won't make a fuss and-"

"Aren't you going with them?" asks Gale suspiciously. He scrutinizes me like he can't believe I would be willing to stay behind. "Of course. I have to get my parents. There are people in the town, too you know." I say bitterly. Gale Hawthorne is known to be prejudiced, and I was not in the mood for it.

"Don't worry, honey. I'll take him." Then she turns to Lawrence. "What's your name sweetie?" She says calmly as to soothe him. "L-Lawrence Cartwright." She smiles down at my little brother, with seems to calm his nerves. "Come along then, Lawrence." I watch them go for a few minutes before turning around and running to other houses. I need to tell as many people as I can. Then the first bomb hits.

It hits right where the Mayor's house is, and I inhale sharply. The Mayor's daughter, Madge is in the same grade as me, and I've known her forever. Everyone stops what they're doing to watch, but I start running towards town. My parents own the tailors, which is on the other side of the square from the Mayor's house. It's only a matter of time before the bombs get there too. I race towards the square, ignoring the yells of "Crazy girl! Run the other way!" and "Delly what are you doing?" I'm almost there.

I finally get to the square to see most of it destroyed, Mellark's Bakery, Peeta's home, is completely obliterated. I have no doubt that his family is dead. I almost cry when I think of his brothers that I was so close to, and his kind father, but I can't think like that right now. All I can focus on is getting to my parents.

Someone has finally caught up to me, but I keep running. Gale suddenly grabs my arm, and I swing my head around to him. "Let go! I have to get them!" There's a loud humming noise, signaling that a hovercraft is close. We look up to see it right by my house. "LET GO!" I shout at him trying desperately to pull out of his grasp. "Do you wanna get killed? Huh? There's no saving them now, just come on!" He yells at me. He's obviously angry at me, but I don't care. His family is safe. What about mine? I turn my head to tell him just that when I feel an oppressive wall of heat knock us to the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

I open my eyes, and see nothing but the rubble covering me. Thankfully it is light, and I can get out of it easily. I realized Gale is no longer holding on to my wrist, and I start to panic. I feel guilty for running off, and having him come after me. _What if he's dead?_ I think with a start. I think of his mother, and his 3 siblings. I don't know what I would say to them. _Yeah, sorry. I ran off like an idiot, and got Gale killed. I'm alive though. Thanks for taking such good care of my brother!_ I suddenly get overwhelmed and start to cry. My mother and father are dead. I probably killed someone's son. I might as well just stay here, and let the fires burn me.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, Delly. Let's go to the meadow before the second round hits." I look up at Gale and burst into tears. "Gale! I thought you were dead!" I exclaim as I hug him. He grunts and pushes me off him, but it doesn't bother me. Not everyone is as friendly as me. I'm used to people being uncomfortable with my personality. "Let's go."

I must have been unconscious longer than I thought, because a lot more of District 12 is destroyed than before. We have to take a different route to the meadow, because at the moment, most of the Seam is on fire.

We see a lot of survivors on the way, and tell them to come with us. The streets are riddled with dead bodies, and people barely alive. There's one little girl with her leg blown off, moaning on the ground. I go to help her, but Jesse, one of the survivors, tells me he sees this in mine explosions all the time. There is nothing to be done. I feel sick looking around at all the destruction, and wonder what happened. I'm tempted to ask someone, but now is not the time.

When we finally reach the meadow, we see a large group of survivors. It looks to be about 1,000 people, which is good considering our circumstance. We are not out of peril, however. The fires in the seam are dangerously close to the meadow, which will burn fast without anything in the way. Gale approaches the fence and calls for everyone to be quiet. All that can be heard is the roaring fire destroying everything, and everyone, in its path.

He then proceeds to grab a hole at the bottom of the fence, and pull up. The crowd gasps, believing that the electricity is still on, but it must have been destroyed in the bombing. That's what Gale must have been listening for. He holds up the bottom of the fence and says, "Children and their mothers first. Once you get through, wait on the other side for everyone. We'll take cover in the woods from the fire." I see many families with little kids rushing to the hole. Many men make the hole bigger my kicking at the links. Pretty, soon, no one has to crawl to get through. I see Mrs. Hawthorne with her children and my brother go through, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Then the men call for the women to go through, and my heart leaps into my throat. I know it's safer there, but I've never been out of the district before. It's especially scary without my parents by my side. I have to be the strong one for my brother. _Who's going to tell him about our parents?_ I stand there frozen trying not to cry, when someone puts their hand on my arm. It's Lacey Godfrey, a Seam girl from my grade. "Come on, Delly, you can come with my mom and me." I smile gratefully. It's times like this when being nice to everyone pays off. People are always more willing to help you when you're friendly. We file through the hole single-file. After we get through, we wait on the other side of the fence until everyone gets on this side. While waiting, I see many people I know- all from the Seam. It looks like my brother and I are some of the only other people from the town. I do see some blonde heads, but no one who I would be comfortable with. "Mom," Lacey says. "This is Delly. She's my friend from school." Her mother looks at me with kind eye, not unlike my own mother's. I swallow the lump in my throat. "Hello, I'm Barb. You can stay with us until everything is figured out." By then, the men have all come through, and Lacey's father comes over. "Hey there, Delly. Glad to see that you made it out." He sadly looks down upon me, like he knows my parents are dead. He probably does. Mr. Godfrey used to play cards with my father and some other people every Sunday. I don't know how close they were, but it's sad all the same.

"Alright everyone!" Yells Thom, Gale's friend. "Find a buddy, and don't lose them! Gale's gonna bring us to a lake." Thom is two years older than me, but his mom worked for my mom, helping making dresses. I wonder if she made it out, or if she was in the shop with them. I wipe any evidence of sadness on my face, and push on. I am not the only one who is hurting here. What everyone needs is a cheering up. I wrap my arm through Lacey's, and start following the crowd toward the lake.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

By the time we finally got to the lake, it was nightfall. There were a couple of fires already started, and people yelling orders. "Bring all injured people up front to Mrs. Everdeen!" "Get some water from the lake- Gale said it was clean" "Guard your things!"

It was a frenzy of reunions and laughing, but mostly crying. People can only take so much heartbreak in a day. Never mind that the future is unsure, and seems to only hold doom. I turn to the Godfreys and tell them that I need to find my brother. I decide to head to the head of the group, where Gale is. Most likely, wherever he is, his family will be.

"DELLY!" Laurie cries as I break through the crowd. He runs from his spot, and jumps into my arms faster than I've ever seen, knocking me over. "Hi, Laurie. How was your time with the Hawthornes?" He smiles up at me, and I can't help but smile back. He climbs off of me, takes my hand, and leads me towards the Hawthornes. "This is Posy, my new friend! She's 4 just like me! Then Vick is 10, and Rory is 12- he taught me to make a spear out of a stick! Now I'm a hunter. " He says proudly as he shows me a twig with a small pointed end. "Wow," I say reaching out and taking it in my hands. "This looks dangerous! Have you gotten anything yet?" Lawrence frowns, looking at the ground frustrated. "Not yet. The squirrels are just too fast! Did you know that squirrels are fast? I don't know how Katniss could kill them. She must be a superhero." Everyone looks down at this. Up until now, no one has really talked about what happened in the games, and I'm becoming increasingly curious. "Yes, Laurie. She is a superhero. And as far as those squirrels, maybe you should try hunting fruit." I say knowing he will never be able to kill anything with his twig. "Fruit?" he asks looking skeptical, but Vick saves me. "Yes! Fruit! Posy and I hunt fruit all the time isn't that right Posy?" Posy just nods with a big smile on her face. One thing's for sure, that girl is very smart for her age. "Yeah," Rory chimes in. "Gale just doesn't do it because it's too dangerous for him. He's scared." A booming laugh resonates from behind us. "That's for sure! Gale can't stand those things. Gives him nightmares, they do! Cries himself to sleep every time he tries to get 'em. Blubbers like a baby." Thom zealously states. The kids giggle, and Mrs. Hawthorne just rolls her eyes. Gale suddenly appears behind him "_Thank you _Thom. Ma, I think everyone should try to get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day." He scowls at me, and I get the hint. "Thank you so much Mrs. Hawthorne! I don't know what I would've done! Come on, Laurie, we're gonna stay with the Godfreys!" I say, pulling him behind me.

I wake up to sunlight streaming into my eyes. I sit up and look around. Not many people are awake. Only those who couldn't sleep or were look-outs. I see Jesse talking with some other men, and decide to join them. "Hello, Jesse. What are you all talking about?" The middle aged man smiles at me. "Hey there sweetheart. This is Joseph, Eddy, Ustas, Herb, Thom, Willy, and Reilly. What 'cha doin' up this early?" I look around at the diverse group of men, ages ranging from 18 to around 50. "Hi, I'm Delly." The men who don't know me nod in recognition. "I couldn't sleep anymore, so I came over to help with anything I can."

"Gale's out huntin'. You know how to hunt darlin'?" asks Herb. I shake my head. "No, but I could go out and try to find some things that look edible." There's a murmuring of agreement, and one man, who looks to be about 20- Joseph I think- says, "Good idea. We can send out a group of scavengers to look for things, and we'll bring the food back to show to the Everdeens. Just to make sure we're not gonna poison ourselves, hey?"

I am put into a group with Joseph, and some girls named, Sarah, Daisy, and Mae. We go to the west side of the pond, and look for anything that looks edible. So far we've found nothing, and Mae keeps flirting with Joseph. I'm tempted to tell them that now is not the time to canoodle, but I don't. I'm not too keen on making anyone angry at the moment. Sarah just rolls her eyes at them, and Daisy tells me that they've had eyes for each other since high school.

"Acorns!" Sarah exclaims. "We can eat acorns, right?" Daisy and I nod, even though we have no idea. I used to eat nuts all the time and acorns are just that. "Let's gather them in our shirts, and bring them back to Prim." I say. Mrs. Everdeen is still trying to lessen the pain for all the injured people, but she can't do much without supplies. Prim was put in charge of deeming the food we've scavenged edible.

Other groups brought berries, roots, and one group even managed to find apples. It still wasn't enough. We had enough food for maybe one hundred people, and even with the hunting Gale did, it wasn't much. The scavenging groups went back out, and Gale recruited people to help hunt. Things were looking dim.

"It's hopeless!" Said Joseph after our third trip bringing back acorns. "thousands of people can't live off of acorns and berries!" Our group got quiet. He was right- we can't live off of this, but what choice do we have? Daisy voiced this. "Well, what do you suppose we do? Not try at all? It's better to go down fighting then to go down in submission." She was obviously livid, and not knowing her that long, I didn't know what to do. "Well if we're going to die anyway why don't we stop tiring ourselves out?" said Mae. I sensed an argument coming, and I knew I had to diffuse it. "Let's just keep collecting for now. We'll think of something. After all, it's not completely hopeless is it? The first few days of change are always the hardest." I said trying to be optimistic. I had my own doubts, though. There was nothing out here, and no one really knew how to get their own food. Sarah started murmuring to herself. "If we don't get a miracle soon, we'll all be dead."


	5. Author's note

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Okay guys, to be perfectly honest, I have forgotten about this story until recently. I've tried to get my creative juices flowing for a new chapter, but I honestly don't see that happening. If anything comes to me, I'll be sure to post.

THIS STORY IS UP FOR ADOPTION. I would love for someone to finish this up. I know there are a lot of great writers out there who can make this their own. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or just read. It means a lot to someone who's not a writer. Maybe one of you would like to adopt it? Sorry for being such a flake.


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